Teladoc acquires digital healthcare developer HealthiestYou.com

Teladoc Inc., one of the largest providers of technology that enables digital doctor visits, has acquired HealthiestYou.com in a cash and stock deal.

HealthiestYou.com, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., develops and markets healthcare website features and functions such as self-service tools that enable patients to use their web-enabled wireless devices to find physicians and look up prescription pricing and health insurance benefits.

Under terms of the deal, Teladoc will pay $45 million in cash and issue HealthiestYou.com stockholders about 7 million shares of Teladoc stock, Teladoc says. The deal is expected to close in just a few days, says Teladoc CEO Jason Gorevic. Teladoc is headquartered in Lewisville, Texas.

Teladoc provides digital doctor office services, also known as telemedicine or telehealth, to about 6,000 companies including health plans, health systems, employers and other others. More than 15 million members use Teladocs phone, mobile device and online video platform to interact with Teladocs network of more than 3,000 board-certified, state-licensed physicians and behavioral health specialists, the company says.

Teladoc is acquiring HealthiestYou.com to add web-based healthcare self-service features, often referred to as patient engagement tools, to its telehealth technology platform, Gorevic says. HealthiestYou.com also will help Teladoc offer a broader range of services to small and mid-sized employers, Gorevic says.

HealthiestYou.com generated sales of about $10 million in 2015 and through the first six months of this year had recorded sales of about $8 million Teladoc says. “Teladocs and HealthiestYous services are highly complementary, Gorevic says.

Teladoc has yet to say if it will operate HealthiestYou.com as a separate subsidiary and what role HealthiestYou.com senior management, including co-founder Jim Prendergast, will play.

Teladoc has yet to report second quarter earnings but earlier issued guidance that the company expects 2016 revenue to range from $126 million to $130 million with a net loss from $51.8 million to $53.8 million.

For the first quarter ended March 31, Teladoc grew revenue 63% to $26.9 million, but its net loss increased from $12.7 million to $15.3 million. Teladoc enabled 240,000 telehealth visits in the first three months of 2016 and approximately 576,000 telehealth visits in 2015. For 2016 Teledoc expects its number of users to increase to between 17 million and 18 million patients and visits to range from 915,000 to 945,000.